page_title: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
section_title: Ascent at court
hierarchical_section_title: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham / Ascent at court
caption_attribution_description: English: Coat of arms Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, KG
context_page_description: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, KG, was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. Despite a patchy political and military record, Buckingham remained at the height of royal favour for the first three years of the reign of King Charles I, until a disgruntled army officer assassinated him.
context_section_description: In August 1614, at age twenty-one, Villiers caught the eye of King James I at a hunt in Apethorpe. Opponents of the king's favourite Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset, saw an opportunity to displace Somerset and began promoting Villiers. Money was raised to purchase Villiers a new wardrobe, and intense lobbying secured his appointment as Royal Cup-bearer, a position that allowed him to make conversation with the king. Villiers began to appear as a dancer in masques from 1615, in which he could exhibit his grace of movement and beauty of body, a recognised avenue to royal favour since the time of Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603).
  Under the king's patronage Villiers advanced rapidly through the ranks of the nobility, and his court appointments grew in importance. In 1615 he was  knighted as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. In 1616, when he became the King's Master of the Horse, he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Whaddon, Viscount Villiers, and made a Knight of the Garter. The next year he was made Earl and in 1618 promoted Marquess of Buckingham, then finally in 1623 Duke of Buckingham.  Villiers' new rank allowed him to dance side by side with the royal heir Charles I, with whom his friendship developed through his tutoring of the prince in dance.
  Villiers was appointed  Lord High Admiral of England in 1619, and in 1623 the former dukedom of Buckingham was recreated for him when he was negotiating abroad on the king's behalf. Since the  dukedom of Norfolk had lapsed in 1572 with the attainder and execution of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, Buckingham now became the only English duke outside the royal family (James' two sons were Duke of Cornwall and Duke of York at the time of Buckingham's elevation).
caption: Arms of Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, KG, as  quartered on his stall plate and banner within  St. George's Chapel
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